Gaurav

Hi Nayan, indeed it's too late to dig in now, seems like you might have a threaded tow hook in front and hitch at back covered in plastic cap. Google it. Ideally explorer have an optional tow package for offroad use, look into that option in future for stronger tow hooks as threaded ones are borderline OK and not ideal for deep stuck.

462.8875

Hi @Najam Saqib welcome to Carnity and it's off-road club, looking forward to see you tomorrow. Please be on time, as we cannot hold the convoy beyond 7:00 AM after 15 minutes grace period.

First of all stop using dubizle to identify "fair market value" as it's highly spoiled platform for buying/selling cars due to its insanely awesome reach. It's like asking why coffee mug in Harrods cost 100 dhs in place of 10. To do a fair apple to apple comparison do a strict benchmark for specific year and from "real owners" and not agents/dealers, as that again will give you two extreme values (Min/Max) to compare as usually dealers adds high mark-up. And in some cases when car is "PURE LEMON" they fix it for less and reverse km and sell it at dirt cheap price. So you end up getting more confuse to see 50K Prado VS 125K Prado. Now coming to your actual question: YES Prado retains "Much Better" Value as compare to GX because: Prado has been in GCC since 2-3 decades vs GX - few years Prado has more reliability due to less bells and whistles Prado is tad cheaper in parts and service than Lexus Prado is 4x4 league vs GX is luxury SUV/4x4 league Every moderately successful sheep wants one Prado, so it tend to push the price up by little. If I am in your place, I will buy GX for better luxury, styling and to be unique (most imp).

Sure you can join, we plan to reach Qudra parking area by 11:30 AM, so for sure by 12:00 you can start.

Well it all depends, if you bribe the trip leader by inviting him to Sweihan buffet, then 12 (sharp) is possible.

You all are most welcome to join the newbie drive in Qudra. As I'm marking different route this time so I'm also marking little play area where we all can have our little fun of sideys and climbs.

Going to wadi and mountain in a sedan is a very risky unless mountain has a tarmac road like jabal jais or jabal hafeet. I have taken my wifey trail blazer once, which is proper 4x4 but suffering from low ground clearance. After 3 incident of underbody scrapping, we returned back from half way climb. I presume sedan will return in first 5-10% path.

For every off-roader going to Liwa is like a holy pilgrimage and much awaited moment to mark their off-road progress. As much as Liwa is fun, thrilling and mind boggling with humongous dunes and vast desert, it is indeed very tricky, scary and challenging to test all your off-road skills in one drive. More than the skills and your vehicle capabilities, you need to be very sharp, calculative and attentive to understand the convoy movement with patience and level head at all times. We plan to explore Liwa - Bu Hasa area this time and head toward Liwa Oasis direction while passing through "Tropic of Cancer" and visiting the famous "Liwa Yellow Truck" buried in Liwa Desert since so many years. As this will be the first Liwa drive of 2020, so we aim to vet Intermediate and above level off-roaders for the second Liwa drive which is going to be more challenging and tougher around Moreeb dunes area. So, if anyone wishes to join Moreeb dune in March, please sign up for this. As it's a 3+ hour drive from Dubai so ideally well rested body will enjoy this whole day drive without fatigue, so reaching a night before and camping or sleeping in the car at meeting point would be ideal, but completely optional for everyone. When: 14 February January 2020, Friday Drive start: 6:45 AM, the convoy will move at sharp 7:00 AM Where: Maraba Al Dhafra Petrol Station, Zayed City, Abu Dhabi Meeting point: https://goo.gl/maps/3TNYZFbBztR93Yo76 Level: Intermediate and above - STRICTLY. Type of Car: Proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Well serviced and thoroughly checked to be in pristine condition without any flaws, warning light, mechanical or electrical malfunction. Plan: Explore and drive till about 06:00 PM What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Extra fuel jerry can - at least 20 liter, more the better. Spare tire should be in good working condition. Drinks & ready to cook food for lunch and dinner Snacks or nuts to munch while driving All spare fluids for your car Firewood (20 kg) / Car Optional items if you have them bring them with you (no special purchase needed) Binoculars Sand track/mat Tie-down straps Tool kit, Ratchet, socket set Essential spare parts for your car Axe, Saw, Heavy duty Hammer etc. Approximate finish time: 6:00 PM Camping and bonfire: 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM - (Optional) Sleep over: 11:00 PM - 6:00 AM - 15 Feb 2020- (Optional) Head back to Dubai after breakfast: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM - 15 Feb 2020 - (Optional) MUST READ: First off-road drive checklist Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Off road Driving Etiquette's Off-road Convoy Rules Off roading - Everything you need to know Please RSVP on the below calendar.

Well not really, but I have used auto pro mechanic few times and they were able to catch stuff very fast. They dont always fix all type of mechanical stuff there but getting right diagnostic is the first step in right direction. You can try auto pro opposite Latifah hospital and another good opposite mirdiff city center in warqa entrance. Also had a brief good experience at autotech in ras al khor, where his mechanic literally gone down to the stage of explaining the difference of freeplay and torn engine mounts.

Please share the details. And hope that full wash include underbody and engine bay too.

Location, price, quality please.....?

OR Go to a better mechanic. Any decent mechanic at any tire shop, or even at autopro can point the bad bushing with one look.

Thanks @Barry for sharing this, as I missed it last time so I am really hoping to see it this time.

Recently I explored few automatic and manual car wash in Dubai and Sharjah while putting kms after my engine rebuild and found massive price difference with very little impact on quality. I have been going to ENOC full wash (Quality: 9 out of 10) or Grand Service Center (Quality: 10 out of 10) manual car wash in Dubai. ENOC manual car wash cost 105 AED and GSS full car wash cost 126 AED. As we all get full manual car wash often, so it was a good exercise for me to put some kms to a good use. In my recent experiment, I have personally check the facility, size, rush, workmanship and location of more than 10 different car wash in Dubai and Sharjah. I found that Havoline Car Steam Wash in Sharjah is one of the cheapest place for getting the Manual Car Wash for 37 AED with minimal rush, as they have 8 bay and with reasonably good workmanship (8 out of 10). Of course they aren't as flashy or shiny like Grand Service Center, but for quarter the price I was quiet happy and satisfied. They also clean the under body very well with Diesel as it has loads of engine oil leaking wet and dry stains, so tipping the right guy is worth getting extra attention - Thanks @Srikumar. https://goo.gl/maps/r21a981fwpCvdvSBA Please share your favorite manual car wash place with their pricing and quality details.

Welcome @Nayan Shenai to Carnity and it's off-road club. The basic minimum requirement for Carnity offroad drive is to have a 4x4 vehicle: With minimum of 10-12 inches of ground clearance and Front and back tow hook in good usable condition. Apart from that everything else can wait for your next drive. Once you join the first drive, you will be given detailed brief on how to drive off-road with all the tips and techniques. Towards the end we will also show the importance and how to use the offroad and safety gears. After your first drive, it is advisable to buy two-way radio, shovel and flag if you like to continue off-roading. It is usually advisable to drive alone for absolute first timer so that you can focus on learning skills and techniques without any distraction, but it's completely your choice at the end.

It's one of the best place to get freshly baked ideas without any boundaries. And most of them dies as soon as you walk out. I actually wanted to buy huge Petrol tanker once: To use after 20 years, but later realize how ineffective its additive chemicals will be after 20 years of sitting in one place. If you replace Will Smith in "I am legend" plot what will you be doing most of the time when you discover that you are the last men left in your city/country? I started with cars & money, then to drinks & foods but after a minute I realize that I will be done with all these stuff in first 3 days...... then what.....? I will pursue my long lost hobbies - photography, building something special like car or house, shooting aero/gun whatever is available. Build some giant communication device to reach others or help others. If like Airbnb idea renting your car is legal and possible in UAE, will you rent your car to a complete stranger? Me: No.

Go as far or as top as you are comfortable of doing a U turn and come back. Record the track so you can come back safely to tarmac. If any of the vehicle hear the bottom scraping noise, mark that as a limit and find a sweet spot near that area. Rocks and mountains usually mark there strength with rough and narrow path to climb up, if vehicles are stock (not lifted) then you got to take mountain offroad with a pinch of salt. Advice all drivers to hold steering with both hands and thumb position outside the steering wheel. Deflate to 25 PSI to have better traction on loose boulders as 35 PSI will spin tires faster. Carry warm clothing as on mountain it does get 5-10 degrees more cooler than city.

You can do off-roading here through out the year. When summer kicks in June - Sep/Oct we switch to night drives and they are equally fun, exciting and relaxing to break from hectic schedule. Same goes for camping too, that nights are quite cooler in desert that you can easily plan bbq and camping session. Do share your wadi sena experience and feedback, whenever you make it.

Too bad I missed this one, due to a bad day start. Looking fwd to see you and all new faces soon next week. Actual fun just starts with newbie drives and more you hang out more fun you gonna sign up for. Life is too boring for tarmac for 7 days, half a day off-roading should be under every doctor's prescription.

I'm actually game to do a recce trip, as its been long time we have done mountain drive here. @Asoke Sen if you want to go before your planned date, just to explore the area and see if it fits your camping criteria, I can accompany you. Thanks @Chirag S. for the heads up and finding this place.

Al Qudra Desert is a very good and versatile learning ground for absolute newbies for their first time desert driving thrilling experience. If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control. Drive will start with detail briefing, followed by 2-3 hours of driving in sand dunes and then break for refreshment over a feedback and assessment session for each offroader. All first timer absolute newbie drivers will receive a detailed briefing before the drive starts to learn the basics of desert driving, techniques and etiquette. They will also receive the safety advise, recovery procedures, best practice and debunking the myth of desert driving. Newbie briefing will end with an individual advice on your 4x4 vehicle gearing, tire pressure, traction control and SRS options to enjoy your first desert drive thoroughly and safely. When: 31 January 2020, Friday Meeting time: 6:45 AM, the convoy will move at sharp 7:00 AM Where: Solar Park, Dubai GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/YH1SWQYNFiMjyaPW7 Level: All levels (Absolute Newbie and Newbie). Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Plan: Drive, train and enjoy till about 11:30 AM What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 12:00 PM - (much before Friday prayer) Friday Prayer Mosque: The Endurance Masjid - https://goo.gl/maps/SXmkx2jntnK85DzB7 MUST READ: First off-road drive checklist Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Off road Driving Etiquette's Off-road Convoy Rules Off roading - Everything you need to know Please RSVP on the below calendar.

Hi Nitin, welcome to Carnity offroad club, which 4x4 do you drive? Usually most of them has the required tow hooks, if not we can advice further but they are mandatory for any offroad drive.